Telephone assembly



ly 27, 194 B. H. KATE 2,325,185

TELEPHONE ASSEMBLY Filed Feb. 26, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 'INVENTOR B che H/fate July 27, 1943. B. H. KATE 2,325,135

' TELEPHONE ASSEMBLY F iled Feb. 26, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet Z INVENTOR 5/0 he H/(aze.

BY w

the receiver and transmitter are supported PatentedJuly2Z1943 "TisLErHoN AssE B Y Blanche H. Kate, Minneapolis, Minn; Application February 26, 1940,; s rial Maggots? This invention relates to a new and noveltelephone assembly and more. particularly to one a l: su o ted by a in; which; the elements are single base.- V V It, has long; been recognized inithetelephone art that the necessity with present telephone assemblies of employingloneor both hands holding elements of the anparatus during a telee phone conversation is a serious disadvantage The hands obviously are notnecessary to the actrial process of voice transmission and there should, be no need ofernploying'the handsjor the purely mechanical; function of hoidingl a re ceiyer unit or. receiver-transmitterunit. It is frequently desirableand even imperative that actsrequi-ring the use of both hands he per-w, formed at, the same time as the telephone conversation. .'1'hus it is oitennecessary to make notes. or to'consuit records during the conversaprincipal reason Why the Xisting telephone assemblies have: been designed Withthis disadvantage is thatthe receiverand transmitter' during the conversion must be close to the earand mouth, respectively, and that no, satisfactory arrangement has previously been devised for adjustably supporting the receiverrand trans niitter in the proper positions relativeto the user re ardless ofhis height and of the positime taken byhim duringth conversion. vWith the earlier type of telephone-in which there:- ceiver and transmitter were embodied in seprate units it was often necessary to employ both hands, one to hold, each unit. These-called French type of e p n re d, one i t w handsby'combin" g the transmitter receiver. in, ne 1,1nit. Lai

te ephone, has become extr mel po l nd isnow widel y used to the a 0st total exclusion oi the earlieritypesh But ev with the Erenc 3- ty-ne of telephone it is stHlne essaryiQr one has to. be emnl y dz p t e u o e of oldin the, 61VF tlfti1$ll1lt$8l unit. v

- It is a broad object of the present invention to provide a unitary telegihone assemblywherein;

such a manner tov freeboth hands-oi the. user. While attempts have been made the past to support either the receiver or transmitter or both, the resulting arrangements have all-failed in on ma ne or a o he Q vid f r th con- Yenient. and simultaneous: adjustment f'oi both the receiver and transmitter. Thus-in sorne cases, the receiver and'transroitter .have been asso iated with. independent supp rt s thatthe yvbecausez of this, thistyne 'inember is the form' 4' Claims. (c1. 175-449)- telephone user trust separately adjust eachunit forthe positicnl he is then occupying. Another arrangement provides for the mounting of; area ceiver-tran'smitterl unit on an adjustable sup-x port: The, provision for} adjustment; however,

is notsuch that/the adjnstmentican bequickly made. MoreoverQthe support is fi' ed so,,tl'iat the degree of adiustment is. relatively-l mited. In no,

cn'el'of these ri r. arran emen s .is er aliunitary, teiephone assemblage which can, be

r adily m d abo t Vifi h everyo ethese prior art devicjes,,the user, is so restri ted, in; the use of the. tel ph ne that i would e m re desir able to us t onventi nal teleph ne. as mb in spite of its disadvantages. v The present inv n ion hasas an, ob ect t 1 r vi e a u i ar p table telephone assembly em? qd ns eans. r supp rtin tra m t r in a. nvenien ly ad u ta le manner.

p ov de su h an ass mblyin which theires eive and transmitter are embodied in a singl'e unit supported by a flexible ineinber,

A fu rther object 1s provide a telnet p pn ss m nw l thefle ible ortins closingithe, conductors e tending to thejreceiver andtransmitten r Astill further object is to 'providesuch, tele:

phone assem ly i which means isfprovided. rqlfpermitting a limited amount of swivel movement between 'the rece ver transmitter u -git and t flexible conduit.- a I V A still further tweet is to? b dvm a; sham i telephone assembly of an improved type in which i 3 a m'anually operated switch is provided for r'n'ak-j ing the circuit changes necessarytcft op eration oi the-telephone and inwhich a signal light is pro'vide'd to remind the'user' to close the v switch at the termination of a'fconversation,

A'still'fur ther object "of the invention isto,

provide a unitary telephone assembly such as set ffilth in the preceding'objects in which it is ini possible toadjust the receiver and transmitter to a position in which the-'assembl'y isunstables Other objects and advantages will be apparent from" the following description and the appended- 7 drawings in which l sembly;-

-- Figure 'a spectiveview or the entireas --Figure 2 is adiagrammaticscheineofthe ir ing system-employed'g'z Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on the line i fiof Fi r 1'; nd

the receiver and .At .f i' i' o ec 1 res nt hve tion' is a1 a fle ibl Gama. eIi-I.

three elements are permanently fastened together to form a single unitary structure.

The base member I is preferably-molded of the phenolic condensation productcommonly known as Bakelite-or of some other suitable plastic molding material. The base member is in the form of a housing enclosing the usual switching mechanism, condensers, terminal panels, and

the other apparatus usually located in such base members in telephone assemblies of the conven tional type. The invention also contemplates that this base member may enclose a bell as is com-' low boss 2|.

monly done in recent telephone assemblies; Dise posed on a forward portion of the base member is a dial i3 of conventional construction. Molded integrally with the base ii) is a hood l4 suitably curved to directthe' light of anele'ctric bulb con-' tained therein'upon the face of the dial [3. 7 As willbe pointed outlater, this'bulb is so wired in the telephone" circuit that it is energized only when the circuit to the receiver-transmitter unit is closed. The'bulb thus serves the dual purpose of illuminatingthe dial and of acting as a signal light to indicate a closedtelephone circuit. Projecting from thelefthand side of the base member ID isan operating handle of a switch for cone, trolling the circuits to the bell, the light, the receiver, the transmitter, and the other apparatus associated with the system. I

In the illustrated form of the invention, a flange I 1 projects downwardly from the'front of the base member Hi. This flange is designed to en'- gage the edge of the desk or table upon which the telephone is disposed, and thus to prevent the telephone from sliding while dialing or adjusting the transmitter and-receiver unit. 'While such a flange is highly desirable in those cases where the telephone is normally; disposed close t6 the front edge of the supporting surface, it is desirably omitted where the telephone may be placed elsewhere on the supporting surface. 1

v The transmitter and receiver unit I lis of ventional form so far as the transmitter and receiver are. concerned. The unit is essentially similar to the corresponding unit of the common French type of telephone assembly and comprises a transmitter portion 23 and a receiver portion 25 in a single molded casing. Like the base' member in, the transmitter and. receiver unit is preferablymolded of Bakelite or a similarmaterial J a As; previously noted; the flexible member 1.2

with respect ,to the base l0.* As best shown in Figures 3 and 4 this member is in the form of a formed that while-the member is easily bent to.

any desired position, it will support the trans mitter and receiver-unit in that position until it erties may be employed for the present purpose.

The transmit-terand receiver unit H is connected to the flexible tubingyiflby means' of a swivel joint of limited movement," this joint being generally indicated by the reference numeral I9. This joint is shown in greater detail in Figures 3 and 4. It will be noted that the upper end of tubing i2 is provided with a portion 20 of reduced diameter projecting from the unit l2 and integral therewith, which is. iournaled in a hol- The reduced portion 20 is provided with two slots 22 of substantially semi-circular form. These two slots are horizontally disposed and are separated by webs 24. Slidable within these slots 22 are two wedge-shaped guide pieces 25 which, in turn, are held in position by set screws 21. The set screws are threaded through the walls of boss 2! and are received in counter-sunk depressions in the guide pieces 25, in .which depressions they are freely turnable.

Theset screws urge the wedge-shaped guide pieces 26 against the inside periphery of slots 22 to create a frictional connection between tube [2 v and the boss 2|. The set screws can be adjusted to maintain the desired amount of friction. It will be noted that the two members joined are firmly retained together as long asthe set screws extend into the depressions in the guide pieces 26, but'may be readily separated by slightly unscrewing the set screws. A very important feature of the joint 19 is that theswivel movement thereof is limited by the engagement ofguide pieces 26 with the Webs24'. This serves to limit the twisting of the conductor l8 asfwill be explained in more detail later. 7

By reason of the flexible tube [2 and the swivel connection l9, the receiver and trans? mitter can be quickly adjusted to a'position which is comfortable for the userat thetime thecall is received. It is to be especially noted that because of the unitary nature of the assembly, the entire assembly can be readily moved so that the range of adjustment is not merely that provided by the tube l2. The swivel connection- 19 further increases the adjustability of the support as is evident from the dotted line position of the parts in which the unit I I has been rotated con;

nearly 180"from the position shown in full lines. Atthe 'same time, it'is assured that the conductors Within the tube l2 cannot be damaged by'excessive twisting, This is due to" the provision of the webs 24. w

? The-tube i2 is of such length that it is impossible to place the transmitter and receiver unit in a position in which the turning moment of-the unit H about the nearest edge of base portion l0 isgreater than the opposing moment supports the transmitterand receiver. unit H is again manipulated. Any of numerous convenv 1 tional types of flexible tubing having these propexerted by the base member it]. Because of this relationship of the length, ofthe tube l2 to the weightsand configurations ofythe transmitter and receiver unit II and the base member [0, it

is impossible'at any time to place the transmitter and receiver unit in a position in which the telephone assembly is unstable. This greatly adds to the ease of adjustment since the user does not haveto worry about where the transmitter and receiver unit is moved withiresp ect to the base I 0.

In the conventiona1 'typ eiof telephone assembly wherein there are two separate units connected by a flexible cord, certain switching operations are carried out upon the'removal of the receiver or the receiver and transmitter unit from, its place of support on the base member. [Inasmuch as thepresent invention eliminates this step, provision is made for manually performing this switching operation at the beginning and end of the conversation; As previously indicated, a switch operating handle l5 extends outwardly from the base member Hi. The switch member actuated by this handle may take the form of a.

tional form. Such dialing mechanism usually comprises a switch and means for periodically making and breaking this switch a predetermined number of times each time the dial is actuated,

the number of times depending on the extent to which the dial is rotated. The making and breaking of this switch causes a series of current impulses at the telephone exchange to indicate the number being called. The numeral 32 indicates the incandescent bulb used inconnection with the reflector I 4. The switch actuated by operating handle I is designated by the reference numeral 34., This switch comprises a switch blade 35, movable between contacts36 and '37. When the telephone is not being used, the switch blade 35 occupies the position shown in which it is in engagement witlrcontact 35. -When it is desired to use the telephone, the switch blade 35 i moved by manipulation of handle l5 into en'- gagernent with contact 3?, The conductors conmeeting the telephone assembly with the exchange are indicatedby the numerals 39 and 40.

With the switch 35 in the ratus 35 as follows: from conductor 39 through position shown, a circuit can be established to the bell ringing appaschematic and a somewhat conversationposition. .By reason of this light, it. will'be assured that "the switch will be returned to its normal position upon the termination of the'conwe'rsation." l 1 Erom'the foregoing, it will-be noted that the present telephone assembly is in the form of an extremely compact portable unit which providesforconvenient and'simultaneous adjustmentof p the transmitter and receiver throughout any d'e-. v

sired range of adjustment. The entire assembly can be moved out of the way when the conversa- -.tion is completed and quickly restored to a con ing parts formed with a 1 ing and having secured to its switch blade 35, contact 38, conductor 45, bell ringing mechanism 38, and conductors 42 and 4B. When the user desires to use the telephone either to receive an incomingcall or to make an outgoing call, he needs merely to flip the switch handle !5 so asto move switch blade outof engagement with contact 36 and into engagement with contact3l. As soon as bell ringin circuit is interrupted and a circuit is established to the transmitter and receiver, to the bulb 32, and to the dialing mechanism 3i. The circuit to the transmitter and receiver unit llv and the dialing mechanism 3| is as follows: from conductor 39 through switch blade 35, contact 3?, conductors 44 and 45, the transmitter and rethis is done, the r ceiver unit ll, conductorsfi and 41, the dialing mechanism 3!, and conductors 48 and 43. The

circuit to the bulb 32 is as follows: from conductor 33 through switch blade 35, contact 37,

conductors 44 and 59, bulb 32, conductors 5i and Q1, dialing mechanism 3!, and conductor 48 to the conductor 48. It will be noted that the bulb 32, is connected in parallel with the transmitter and receiver unit ll. Where the transmitter and receiver are included in separate circuits as is often the case, the bulb 32 may be connected in parallel with either the transmitter or receiven-preferably the former. It is also to be understood that the bulb, if desired, may be connected in :BIiE-S with the transmitter or receiver. In general, the bulb may be connected any place in the circuit wherein its energization will be controlled supporting mounting,

a being readily bendable venient talking position when it is again desired to use it. By the use of the assembly of the present invention, the "need for using the hands duringthe conversation is entirely eliminated The hands are entirely free to perform any deing at the top thereof, a hollow flexible tube secured at its inner end to said casing top mountouter end a combination hand transmitter-receiver unit, the flexible tube being readily bendable for adjustment purposes but having suflicient rigidity to support the transmitter-receiver unit in any adjusted position, telephone circuit conductors extending from the casing to the transmitter-receiver unit through the flexible tube, and manual switch means in thecasing for controlling said circuit.

2. A portable unitary telephone assembly comprising a desk-type casing for telephone operat casing having a projecting upper ing parts, said portion of smaller cross-section than the main portion of the casing forming a vertical pedestal, a hollow flexible tube secured at its inner end to the upper end-of said pedestal and having secured to its outer end'a combination hand,

transmitter-receiver unit, the flexible tube being readily bendable for adjustment purposes but having suflicient rigidity to'support the transmitter-receiver unit'in any adjusted position,

telephone circuit conductors extending from the casing to the flexible tube, and manual switch means in the casing for controllingsaid circuit.

ing parts, said casing tapering in its upper portion to a relatively small top forming a tubea hollow flexible tube secured at its inner end having secured to its outer end a combination hand transmitter-receiver unit, the flexible tube for adjustment purposes but having suflicient rigidity to support the transmitter-receiver unit in any adjusted position, a. telephone-circuit conductors extending from the casing to the transmitter-receiver unit through the flexible tube, and manual switch means in by the switch 35 and wherein it will not interfere 1 with the operation of the apparatus As previously indicated, the bulb 32 not only serves to illuminate the dial l3, but also to remind the user that the switch I5 is still in the the casing for controlling operating parts including v dialing unit, said casing having a projecting upsaid circuit. A portable unitary telephone assembly comprising a desk-type casing supporting telephone per portion terminating in a relatively-small top forming a tube-supporting mounting, a'hollow flex ble tube secured at its'inner end to. said top tube-supporting mount the transmitter-receiver unit through I to said top-mounting and an exposed telephone mounting and having secured to its outer end a combination hand transmitter-receiver unit, the flexible tube being readily bendable for adjustment purposes but having sufiicient rigidity to support the transmitter-receiver unit in any adjusted position, a hood formed in theside of the casing upper portion and housing an electric lamp for illuminating the dialing unit, telephone circuit conductors for energizing the transmitter- 

